Overwrapped disk pairs in a package article for automatically and continuously making sausages with flat ends

ABSTRACT

Package article useful in producing sausages having flat ends. The package article comprises a shirred casing having at least one unshirred portion and having disposed inside said unshirred portion at least two pairs of flattening annular disks with a central hole in each of said annular disks. The disk pairs are detachably-attached, at least one disk of each pair being fixedly-attached by flexible means to a disk of an adjoining pair. Additionally, the disks are overwrapped with a rigid or flexible material. Also disclosed is a method of making the package article comprising disposing inside an unshirred portion of a shirred casing stick at least two overwrapped annular disks.

DESCRIPTION RELATED APPLICATIONS

The following applications are related to, and were filed on the samedate as, the instant application: U.S. application Ser. Nos. 430,230 toKupcikevicius, et al; 430,442 to Kupcikevicius; 431,535 to Frey; 432,053to Raudys; and 429,395 to Kupcikevicius. Also related is Ser. No.448,349 to Raudys filed 12/9/82.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the production of large sausageproducts, and, more specifically, to a package article useful incontinuously producing such products with flat ends.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Large sausage casings are generally manufactured from materials such asregenerated cellulose, or regenerated cellulose having fibrous websembedded therein, and are employed in the manufacture of large sausageproducts such as salami and bologna sausages, spiced meat loafs, cookedand smoked ham butts and the like. Such large sausage casings areproduced in flat widths ranging in size from about 2 to 15 inches andrange in length from about 14 to 72 inches and longer. The large sausagecasings most commonly used for commercial production of large sausageproducts range in size from about 3 to 8 inches in flat width and fromabout 18 to 72 inches in length.

In recent years, systems for automatically stuffing meats and foodemulsions into casings in a continuous fashion have become well-known inthe art. Such systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. Re.30,390 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,077,090 and 4,164,057. Such systems commonlyemploy shirred tubular cellulosic food casings as disclosed, forexample, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,983,949 and 2,984,574 to Matecki.

In the production of a large sausage product, a large sausage casing isfirst gathered over the end of a stuffing horn and then stuffed with afood emulsion. The thusly stuffed and encased food emulsion issubsequently cooked or cured according to conventional processes. Manyof these large sausage products are thereafter sliced and packaged intounits of predetermined weight and slice count for retail sale. Theslicing devices employed in such packaging operations are pre-set toyield a specific weight-by-slice count for use in obtaining unitpackages of equal weight. Since a large sausage casing stuffed with afood emulsion has two generally hemispherical or rounded ends, theserounded ends are generally not used in producing equal weight packagesand are reworked (i.e., recycled in the production of a subsequent batchof food emulsion).

In order to minimize the rework resulting from these rounded ends, manyprior attempts have been made to flatten them by utilizing a variety ofmethods and apparatus. While such attempts have attained some degree ofsuccess, none has proved to be entirely satisfactory. For example, U.S.Pat. No. 3,808,638 discloses a method for producing large sausageproducts having one pre-flattened end. Although this method reduces thesausage end rework by one-half, substantial rework is still present inthe non-flattened end. As a further example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,331discloses a method and apparatus for producing encased sausage with twoflat ends whereby the end pieces are inserted in a non-fully automaticfashion. Such method and apparatus is limited to the use of continuouslengths of non-shirred casing, and does not lend itself to efficientcommercial operation.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a casing packagearticle that is useful in continuously and automatically producing largesausage products with substantially flat ends from shirred casings,thereby improving slice yield and avoiding or minimizing the reworkassociated with the rounded ends of conventional sausages.

This and other objects of the invention will become apparent from areading of the specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention encompasses a package article comprising a shirredcasing having at least one unshirred portion containing at least onepair of flattening annular disks, said pairs being detachably-attached,at least one disk of each pair being fixedly-attached by means of aflexible tubular membrane to a disk of an adjoining pair, said pairs ofdisks being overwrapped with a rigid or flexible material. Each of theannular disks must have an outer diameter less than the casing burstdiameter for said casing. As used herein the term "casing burstdiameter" denotes a diameter that is excessive to the extent that thecasing integrity is lost and there is at least one break-point in thecasing. The diameter of the central hole in each of said annular disksgenerally does not exceed 99 percent (preferably 90 percent, morepreferably 50 percent) of the annular disk outer diameter.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of making apackage article for use in automatically and continuously stuffing foodproduct employing at least one shirred casing stick which comprises:

(a) providing a shirred casing stick having an unshirred portion and ashirred portion, and

(b) disposing inside said unshirred portion of said casing stick atleast one pair of flattening annular disks, said pairs beingdetachably-attached, at least one disk of each pair beingfixedly-attached by means of a flexible tubular membrane to a disk of anadjoining pair, said pairs of disks being overwrapped with a rigid orflexible material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a preferred package article of thisinvention.

FIG. 2,is a sectional view of a package article of the invention mountedon a stuffing apparatus with portions of said apparatus omitted whichare not essential to an understanding of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial profile view of a particularly preferredsingle-piece support tube configuration useful in the invention asmounted on a stuffing horn apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a package article incorporatingthe single-piece support tube configuration of FIG. 3 showing shirredcasing.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a preferred clover-leafdesign sizing means useful in the package article of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a preferred arrangement for the annulardisks useful in the invention whereby two disks are fixedly-attached bymeans of a flexible tubular membrane.

FIG. 7 is a cut-away view of a disk pair showing a preferred means ofdetachable-attachment for the disk pair.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of an array of disk pairs.

FIG. 9 is a view of a sausage product produced using the package articleof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For a clearer understanding of the subject invention, reference is madeto FIG. 1 wherein reference number 25 generally designates theprepackaged shirred tubular casing article of the invention. Theprepackaged tubular casing article includes a shirred casing stick 1having an unshirred portion 2. A sizing means in the form of a sizingdisk 3 is implanted in the unshirred portion 2 of said shirred casingstick 1. Said sizing disk and its functions are described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,007,761, 4,077,090 and 4,164,057 and U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 30,265and Re. 30,390, all incorporated herein by reference. Also implantedwithin the unshirred portion 2 are at least two flattening annulardisks, shown in FIG. 1 as disk pair 30a, which includes a trailingannular disk 8 and a leading annular disk 9. The terms "leading" and"trailing" as applied to the disk are defined hereinbelow. As usedherein, the term "flattening annular disk" is used to designate any diskwhich has a central hole and which, when employed as an insert at eitherend of the stuffed sausage product, will at least partially (andpreferably fully) flatten the end of such product, thereby producing aproduct generally having the shape of a right circular cylinder. Astuffed product having flat ends makes it possible to avoid or minimizerework resulting from the rounded ends associated with conventionalsausages.

The flattening annular disks can have any of a wide variety of shapesand sizes including for example, round, elliptical, oval, andpolygonal-with-rounded corners, provided that these disks generallyconform in outer perimeter to the inner perimeter of the unshirredportion of the casing of the package article. In this regard, it isimportant that a tight seal exist between the inner casing perimeter andthe outer annular disk perimeter so that a seal may be maintained duringthe stuffing operation and subsequent handling of the food product. Whenthe annular disks are round in shape they preferably should have acentral hole diameter not exceeding 90 percent of the annular disk outerdiameter, although it is more preferable that the central hole diameternot exceed one-half the annular disk outer diameter. If the annulardisks are not round, then the effective diameter of the central holeshould preferably not exceed 90 (more preferably 50) percent of theeffective annular disk outer diameter. When the central hole diameter ofthe annular disks approaches 99 percent of the annular disk outerdiameter, the annular disks are properly envisioned as hoops. When usingsuch hoops, they should be arranged in the form of thehereinafter-discussed extender modules. In the stuffed product, thehoops co-act with the flexible tubular membrane of the extender modulesto prevent formation of hemispherical product ends and, instead, toprovide substantially flat ends.

The central hole in the annular disks can also have a wide variety ofsizes and shapes including, for example, round, elliptical, oval, andpolygonal-with-rounded-corners. It is most preferable to have as small acentral hole as possible in the annular disks since this will facilitatemaximum flattening of the sausage end. Of course, the central hole inthe annular disks cannot be smaller than the diameter of the stuffinghorn or support tube upon which the annular disks are to be mounted, asfurther described hereinbelow.

It is preferred that the disks in themselves be supported in somefashion in order to insure their ordered integrity in a disk array 6 inthe prepackaged, shirred tubular casing article 25, during shipping andhandling, and before and during stuffing operations. Although widevariations in the support mechanism are envisioned, two preferredsupport mechanisms would include an overwrap 15 (either rigid orflexible) or a central support tube 12, or both. Typical overwrap forthe annular disks would include flexible film such as polyvinylchloridefilm or polyethylene film. The central support tube 12, if used, wouldbe one extending through at least a portion of the disk array 6. In apreferred embodiment, the support tube would be one that essentiallyfills the available cross sectional area provided by the central holesin the annular disks. The support tube, if used, preferably has acircular or elliptical cross section, more preferably an ellipticalcross section. An elliptical central support tube is particularlypreferred when using annular disks with a circular central hole sincesuch a support tube configuration affords a maximum effectivecross-section to the support tube for maximum food emulsion throughputwhile enabling the disks to be angularly disposed on the support tube asfurther described hereinbelow.

One or more of the above-described flattening annular disks can act as asizing disk, performing a casing sizing function (i.e.,circumferentially stretching the casing) as well as a flatteningfunction. Generally speaking, at least some portion of the sizingfunction will be performed by one or more of the annular disks, eitheralone or co-acting with an optional sizing means, if used. Usefuloptional sizing means are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,007,761;4,077,090; and 4,164,057 and U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 30,265 and 30,390referenced above, all incorporated herein by reference.

In a preferred mode (subject of copending U.S. application Ser. No.430,897), the flattening annular disks are detachably-attached in pairs,such as disk pairs 30a, b, c, etc. In turn, at least one disk of thepair is fixedly-attached by flexible means (preferably by means of aflexible tubular membrane) to a disk of an adjoining disk pair as morefully described hereinafter in conjuction with the drawings. Such a modeof attachment serves, among other things, as a vehicle to move the disksin pairs into position on the stuffing horn or stuffing horn extensionand off the stuffing horn at appropriate times in the stuffing cycle.

Other vehicles for moving the disks are envisioned to fall within thefull scope of the present invention, including flexible ribbons or cordsconnecting the disks, or "fingers" external to the unshirred portion ofthe casing to grab one or more disks and translate the disks parallel tosaid stuffing horn, or alternatively, translatable, retractable pins onthe stuffing horn extension for moving the disks to the end of saidextension. In a particularly advantageous aspect of the invention, it ispreferred that the leading annular disk (i.e., the disk that is in placein the leading end of the sausage product) in each detachably-attachedpair have a central hole having a diameter that is larger than thecentral hole diameter of the trailing annular disk in the pair. Thisdifference in hole diameters between the leading and trailing disks canpermit the trailing disk to be retained on the end of the stuffing hornor stuffing horn extension during stuffing operations while the leadingdisk passes over such end. Of course, if desired the disk can havecentral holes that are of comparable annular diameters. In an alternateembodiment, one disk in the array, namely the very first disk, can be asolid disk with no central hole.

Detachable-attachment of the leading and trailing disks of each diskpair 30a, b, c, etc. can be effected by any suitable means such as, forexample, metal or plastic tabs located around the inner or outerperimeter of one disk which co-act with a mating surface on an adjoiningdisk to form a disk pair. A preferred mode of detachable-attachmentinvolves the use of metal tabs located around the outer perimeter of oneannular flattening disk of the pair which interlocks with the other ofthe pair as hereinafter more fully described in connection with thedrawings.

Fixed-attachment of the flexible tubular membrane 7 between the annulardisks of one pair and the annular disk of an adjacent pair is preferablyeffected in proximity to the inner perimeter of such annular disk by anysuitable means, such as by employing a food-acceptable metal-to-plasticadhesive or by crimping the inner perimeter of the disk around theflexible tubular membrane. If the crimping method is used, care must betaken to avoid tearing the membrane during the crimping process. In thisregard, it has been found advantageous to employ a plastic, e.g.polyethylene string inside the crimp itself to act as a cushion duringthe crimping process, thereby minimizing the possibility of tearing theflexible tubular membrane, as disclosed in co-pending application U.S.Ser. No. 430,220, incorporated herein by reference.

The flexible tubular membrane 7 as may be useful for fixed-attachmentpurposes is preferably a membrane constructed of a plastic film such as,for example, polyethylene film, polyvinyl chloride film or ethylenevinylacetate film. Polyethylene film is preferred. In use this flexibletubular membrane will permit the disk pairs 30b, c, d, etc. to collapseone against the other to form the relatively compact, ordered disk array6 of disk pairs 30b, c, d, etc. It is preferred that the flexibletubular membrane occupy a minimum of space when fully collapsed in orderto minimize the length of this array 6 of disk pairs.

It has been stated above that the number of trailing and leadingflattening annular disks in the package article be at least two. It ispreferred that the number of disks be sufficient to provide sausages ofa length required in any given commercial situation, taking into accountthe length of casing available on the shirred stick in the packagearticle and the length of the encased stuffed product required for aparticular commercial operation. The required number of disks will bereadily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, although it ispreferred that the number of disks be at least ten. In this regard,either the length of casing in the shirred stick can be varied based ona fixed number of disks or the number of disks can be varied based on afixed shirred stick length. Typically, a casing having a stuffeddiameter of about 4.5 inches and an unshirred casing length of 200 feetmight employ 50 of the disk pairs 30a, b, c, etc.

The flattening annular disks useful in the present invention can be madeof a wide variety of materials provided that the surface of the materialchosen, or coating on the surface of the material, meet the requiredgovernment specifications for use with food products. Useful materialswould include metals such as aluminum and steel, and plastics such asstyrene and polypropylene. It is preferred that the disks each be ofsufficient strength to resist deformation in the stuffed product. Thepreferred disks of the present invention are those constructed from 75lb. tin-plated steel having a thickness of about 0.007 inch and havingstiffening annular ribs, such as those often found in can lids, foradded support. The tin-plated steel may be appropriately coated with achromate conversion coating or other coating meeting the requiredgovernment specifications for use with food products.

As shown in FIG. 1, an unshirred portion of casing length 2 passes overthe first disk pair 30a and the disk array 6. The fore end of casinglength 2 is closed, together with a portion of the flexible tubularmembrane 7 attached to leading annular disk 9 of said first disk pair30a, with a clip 44. The trailing annular disk 8 of said first disk pair30a is detachably-attached to said leading annular disk 9 andfixedly-attached by means of a second piece of flexible tubular membrane7 to the leading annular disk 9 of the next disk pair 30b.

In use, the flexible tubular membrane 7 serves as the link between thedisk pairs of the disk array 6 and preferably serves as a vehicle tomove the disk pairs from an inclined position in the disk array 6 to anupright position as shown for disk pair 30a.

The disk array 6 is preferably disposed in a fashion such that the diskstherein are stacked at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of thecasing length 2 in order to allow free movement of the unshirred portionof the casing over the array during the stuffing operation.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is an overwrap 39 which, as set forth hereinabove,is utilized to cover the shirred casing length portion 1 of the packagearticle 25 as well as the rest of the article. Said overwrap provides aprotective covering for, and a degree of structural integrity to, thewhole of the subject package article, and also provides a degree ofmoisture retention for the casing. The overwrap 39 is disposed in amanner to provide free access to the internal bore of the shirred casingstick 1 of the subject package article.

Although the overwrap is preferably a plastic film with elasticproperties, other types of overwrap material could be utilized such asshrink or non-shrink plastic film, cellophane, paper, elastic nettingand the like. A preferred overwrap is an elastic stretch film comprisingpolyvinyl chloride, but a shrink fitted overwrap comprising polyethylenefilm is also suitably employed. A second preferred overwrap is a closedflexible bag of polyethylene.

In use, the subject article of the invention, provided as a packagearticle unit to the customer, is loaded on a stuffing apparatus. FIG. 2shows one embodiment of the package article 25 in place in such astuffing horn 5 of a stuffing apparatus. The shirred casing stick 1 ofthe subject invention is placed on the movable support sleeve 24 of saidstuffing apparatus, and the sizing disk 3 is attached to the supportsleeve by means of the frangible "fingers" of said sizing disk.

To attach the annular disk array 6 of the package article 25 to thestuffing horn 5, FIG. 1 and 2 show that the support tube 12, on whichthe array is mounted, includes a quick-connection attachment means 26which attaches to a corresponding connector on the stuffing horn of saidstuffing apparatus. One of the functions served by said support tube 12is to maintain the ordered integrity of the annular disks in the packagearticle.

In a preferred aspect, axially aligned with the support tube, are sealmeans 8a and positioning means 8b of said stuffing apparatus. The sealmeans is preferably a split seal ring that, in use, provides a tightseal between an unshirred portion of casing length 2 and trailingannular disk 8 of first disk pair 30a during the first stuffing cycleand between subsequent casing lengths and trailing disks for subsequentstuffing cycles. The positioning means preferably consists of acrescent-shaped ring adapted for fore-and-aft motion over disk array 6,and further adapted to move pairs of disks out of the array and into thestuffing position occupied by first disk pair 30a. The seal means andthe positioning means are more clearly discussed in copendingapplication U.S. Ser. No. 430,230, filed simultaneously with the instantapplication and assigned to the same assignee as this application.

The stuffing apparatus which can be employed in conjunction with thepackage article of the present invention is suitably a modified versionof that set forth in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 30,390, incorporated herein byreference. In one embodiment for using the casing of the presentinvention, the support sleeve as disclosed in that reissue patent isfixed in place on the stuffing horn and does not move during thestuffing operation. In turn, the sizing disk of that reissue patent isrendered not movable on the stuffing horn. The sizing disk of thereissue patent can be made small enough to provide a degree ofstretch-sizing, when used in conjunction with the slideable snubbingmeans of the reissue patent (modified to make it slideable) whilepermitting casing slacking when required during the casing closingcycle. A preferred apparatus is described in detail in copending U.S.application Ser. No. 430,230 also incorporated herein by reference. Ofcourse, the package article of the present invention is envisioned towork with a wide variety of other apparatus that may be devised by thoseworking in the field.

Briefly, the system disclosed in our U.S. application Ser. No. 430,230involves an apparatus for automatically and continuously producing anencased food product having a uniform diameter and substantially flatends comprising in combination, a frame, a stuffing horn assembly,including a support tube having an inlet end and a discharge end forconveying food product from a supply source, said support tube having afirst portion adapted to carry a shirred tubular casing article, andsaid support tube having a tube portion adapted to hold an unshirredportion of said shirred tubular casing article including a plurality ofaxially disposed flattening annular disks inside said unshirred portionof casing, said tube portion extending through the central holes of saidannular disks, means for advancing selected ones of said flatteningannular disks to said discharge end and thereafter introducing a foodproduct to be stuffed between said flattening annular disks, and controlmeans operatively associated with said stuffing horn assembly toselectively control a cycle of successive stuffing and casing closingoperations including moving said disks off of said stuffing hornextension after the introduction of a food product therebetween, therebyproducing an encased product having predetermined length and diameterwith substantially flat ends, said flat ends being due to one of saidannular disks being located proximate to and inside each end of saidencased product.

In another aspect our U.S. application Ser. No. 430,230 involves amethod for automatically and continuously producing encased food producthaving a uniform diameter and substantially flat ends which comprises:

(a) mounting a shirred tubular casing article, including a plurality offlattening annular disks disposed inside a closed-end unshirred portionof said shirred tubular casing, onto a stuffing horn of a food stuffingapparatus;

(b) positioning a first flattening disk and an annular second disk ofsaid plurality proximate to the closed end of said casing and thedischarge end of said stuffing horn such that the flattening portions ofsaid first and second disks are essentially perpendicular to the axis ofsaid stuffing horn;

(c) discharging a pressurized food product from the discharge end ofsaid stuffing horn between said first and second disks in an amountsufficient to form an encased food length between said first and seconddisks;

(d) gathering an unshirred portion of said casing at a point after thetrailing end of the encased food length and closing the casing at saidpoint to provide a fully closed encased food product havingsubstantially flat ends;

(e) positioning a succeeding pair of annular flattening disks proximateto the discharge end of said stuffing horn such that the flatteningportion of each disk of said succeeding pair of disks is essentiallyperpendicular to the axis of said stuffing horn; and, closing thesucceeding casing length; and, severing the fully closed encased foodproduct; and,

(f) repeating steps (c) through (e) using said third and fourth disksinstead of said first and second disks to form another encased foodlength.

The package article of the present invention is suitable for use withthe so-called cored high density (CHD) system as set forth in co-pendingU.S. application Ser. No. 261,304, incorporated herein by reference. TheCHD system involves flexible tubular cellulosic food casing shirred andcompressed onto a rigid hollow tubular core to a high compactioncondition to produce a casing stick with enhanced stuffing lengthcapacity, structural stability and strength, and larger stuffing hornadaptability. In a preferred aspect, the sizing means employed in thepresent invention is molded to the tubular core of the CHD casingarticle. The tubular core of the CHD casing article can act as part ofthe stuffing horn itself or as a tension sleeve fitting over a stuffinghorn, such as the tension sleeve disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,761.If the tubular core is used as the stuffing horn it may require supportat the stuffing end in order to insure stability and prevent flopping oraxial misalignment.

An alternate and preferred embodiment of the present invention is shownin FIG. 3 wherein a single-piece support tube 63 is shown fit over astuffing horn assembly including a stuffing horn 65 and stuffing hornextension 67. The single-piece support tube 63 comprises a conical nosepiece 69 having a flexible end lip 70, an elliptical support sleeve 71for carrying an array of the disk pairs, a sizing means 73, and a diskarray overwrap tie-down slot 74 all fit together with a CHD tubular core75 to provide strength and coherency advantages that are associated withsingle piece construction. Fig. 4 shows a package article utilizing theabove-discussed single-piece support tube on which is mounted a shirredcasing stick 77 and an unshirred casing length 79. Disposed within theunshirred casing length is a disk pair array 81 and an array overwrap82, all mounted thereon.

The disk array 81 is preferably canted for use during stuffing as shownin FIG. 4. Since the casing to be stuffed can have an inner diameterapproaching the outer diameter of the disk array 81, the canting willallow the casing to be drawn over the disk array and its overwrap 82during the stuffing operation with minimal drag. This allows the supporttube 71 and the stuffing horn extension to be generally elliptical invertical cross-section (see FIG. 5) because the projection of the round,but canted, central holes of the disk array 81 onto a plane normal tothe axis of the stuffing horn will be an ellipse. This elliptical shapefor the stuffing horn affords maximum emulsion throughput duringstuffing. A preferred shape of sizing means 73 is a clover leaf designas shown in FIG. 5. A detailed description of this type of sizing meansis given in co-pending application U.S. Ser. No. 430,582. In brief, thistype of sizing means cooperates with means external to the casing tostretch-size the casing into the recesses and over the lands of theclover leaf to provide the desired effective diameter.

FIG. 6 shows two annular disks useful in the present invention,fixedly-attached as generally indicated at 110 (hereinafter called an"extender module"), which can be adapted for use in the automaticproduction of large sausage products having flat ends. The extendermodule 110 includes a leading disk 112 and a trailing disk 114 connectedby a flexible tubular membrane 116.

The terms "leading" and "trailing" as applied to the disks, denoteswhether the particular disk forms the leading end, or the trailing endrespectively, of a stuffed product. Thus, with reference to the extendermodule 110 as shown in FIG. 6, trailing disk 114 will go to form a flattrailing end of a first stuffed product during the stuffing operationwhile leading disk 112 will go to form a flat leading end of the nextstuffed product.

Each disk 112, 114 as shown in FIG. 6, is generally the shape of asubstantially flat, annular disk. Preferably, the central opening 118 inleading disk 112 is larger in diameter than the central opening 120 intrailing disk 114 for purposes set out herein below.

Also, it is preferred that each opening 118, 120 be as small as possibleas this will facilitate maximum flattening of the ends of the stuffedproduct. Since in a preferred embodiment, both disks will be located ona stuffing horn assembly, the size of the openings 118, 120 should besufficient to allow passage of the stuffing horn.

Each disk 112, 114 is slightly dished about its opening as shown at 122.In part, this strengthens each disk and helps to prevent deformation inuse. The portion of each disk about openings 118, 120 is also bentinward and formed about a core 124 of polyethylene or other suitable,relatively resilient material. Captured between each core and thematerial of the disk as formed about these cores, are the respectiveends 126, 128 of the tubular membrane 116. In this fashion the tubularmembrane defines a tubular passage having one end 126 defined by opening118 in the leading disk 112 and its second end defined by opening 120 inthe trailing disk 114.

Leading disk 112 has a bead or rim 130 formed about the outer peripheryto add strength and rigidity to the disk. Since, in use, disk 112 willbe disposed within a stuffed casing, the bead also will help to preventthe disk from damaging the casing during the stuffing process as thecasing is stretched over the bead to effect a seal between the innerperimeter of the casing and the outer perimeter of the leading disk 112.

Formed on the rear, or outwardly facing surface 132 of leading disk 112is an annular shoulder 134. This shoulder is disposed about the leadingdisk adjacent its outer periphery for purposes set out herein below.

As shown in FIG. 6, the trailing disk 114 has its outer periphery formedwith a flange 136 that is bent or rounded over the front or leading face138 of the disk. This configuration provides the rim of the trailingdisk 114 with a rounded surface so that in use, a casing can bestretched over the trailing disk to effect a seal similar to the sealbetween the casing and the leading disk. This configuration alsoprovides an annular lip 140 which extends about the periphery of thetrailing disk. This lip is not continuous but has pieces removed so asto form plurality of tabs 140, spaced about the periphery of thetrailing disk.

Tabs 140 on the trailing disk 114 and the shoulder 134 on the leadingdisk 112 are coincident, and the respective sizes of shoulder 134 andtabs 140 are such that the shoulder can snap fit under the tabs. Withthis arrangement, a leading disk 112 of one extender module can bedetachably connected on the trailing disk 114 of a second extendermodule simply by aligning the respective leading and trailing disks andthen snapping shoulder 134 beneath tabs 140 as shown in FIG. 7.

For purposes of describing the present invention, a leading and atrailing disk which are detachably connected together as shown in FIG. 7will be referred to as a disk pair and will be identified by letters A,B, C, etc. Thus, FIG. 7 shows a disk pair A formed by detachablyconnecting a leading disk 112 of one extender module 110 (FIG. 6), tothe trailing disk 114 of another identical extender module. In thisfashion, any number of extender modules 110 can be detachably connectedto form an ordered array of disk pairs A, B, C, etc., each disk pairbeing connected to the following disk pair by flexible tubular membrane116. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 shows four disk pairs A, B, C and D connected one to another bytubular membranes 116. It should be understood that four disk pairs areshown for purposes of illustration only and that any number of extendermodules 110 can be connected as may be needed. Moreover, since tubularmembrane 116 is flexible, the disk pairs A, B, C and D can be collapsedaxially one against the other to form a relatively compact, orderedarray of disk pairs. When the disk pairs are collapsed together, thedished configuration of each leading and trailing disks 112, 114respectively, as described herein above, provides a space 142 toaccommodate the tubular membrane 116 which folds into this space.

FIG. 9 shows a sausage 105 produced using the package article of thepresent invention. The sausage 105 is encased by casing 127 and is shownwith substantially flat ends produced by flattening annular disks 122,124. The emulsion contained in pockets 158 must be reworked. It shouldbe noted, however, that the rework contained in the pockets issubstantially minimal as compared to that found in the rounded ends ofthe prior art sausages, as discussed in the following example.

The following example is intended to illustrate, but in no way limit,the present invention.

EXAMPLE

In order to show the improvement associated with the article of thepresent invention a conventional stuffing apparatus of the type shown inU.S. Pat. No. Re. 30,390 and sold by Union Carbide Corporation as aModel 400 F SHIRMATIC stuffing apparatus, was modified as described inconcurrently filed U.S. application Ser. No. 430,230 directed to amethod and apparatus that employs the article of the present invention,incorporated herein by reference. An extender package article as shownin FIG. 1 was mounted to the modified apparatus and the modifiedapparatus operated continuously and automatically to produce stuffedproducts having substantially flat ends.

As a control, a similar but unmodified apparatus, as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. Re. 30,390 was operated in a conventional manner to producestuffed products having conventional rounded ends. The control stuffedproducts were made using a SHIRMATIC shirred casing article as disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,761, incorporated herein by reference.

Both runs utilized a SHIRMATIC clear, size 71/2K casing and eachapparatus was adjusted to stuff the casings to the manufacturer'srecommended "green" (i.e. unprocessed) diameter of about 4.62 inches.Also, a similar meat bologna emulsion was utilized for each run.

Fourteen stuffed products were then made using the modified apparatusand thirteen using the conventional apparatus. Measurements taken aboutthe midpoint of each product were uniform and midpoint diameters foreach product averaged 4.63 inches.

After stuffing, all products underwent similar processing in a smokechamber and were stored at 30° F. for 24 hours to produce the finishedproducts for slicing.

Each product was sliced using a deli-type sausage slicing machine set toproduce a slice 0.17 inches thick. Both the leading and trailing end ofeach product was sliced until the mean slice diameter approached 4.44inches for the leading end and 4.52 inches for the trailing end.

An average of 13 slices were cut from each end of the conventionalproducts before approaching the finished mean diameters as set outabove. In comparison, only an average of 1.5 slices were taken from eachend of the flat ended products made using the flattening disks andmodified stuffing apparatus as described herein.

The weight of the individual slices and the combined total weight forslices from both ends of each product were recorded. This data indicatedthat the average amount of rework for each product having theconventional rounded ends totaled 833 grams. In contrast, the weight ofthe rework from the flat ended stuffed products averaged only 102 grams.The rework from the flat-ended product was only 12.2% of the rework fromthe conventional round-ended product.

To confirm the overall uniformity of the finished product diameter ofthe flat ended stuffed products, an additional six slices were takenfrom the end of each product. The mean diameter and weight of each ofthese additional slices were uniform and within acceptable limits forcommercial packaging in weight-by-slice count packages.

The eight-fold decrease in rework and the slice count increase from eachproduct as demonstrated by this test, established that the method andapparatus of the present invention are suitable for use in thecontinuous and automatic production of stuffed products having flatends.

We claim:
 1. A package article comprising a shirred casing having atleast one unshirred portion containing at least two pairs of flatteningannular disks, there being a central hole in each of said annular disks,said pairs being detachably-attached, at least one disk of each pairbeing fixedly-attached by flexible means to a disk of an adjoining pair,said pairs of disks being overwrapped with a rigid or flexible material.2. The package article of claim 1 wherein said annular disks have acentral support tube extending through the central holes of at least aportion of said annular disks.
 3. The package article of claim 2 whereinsaid support tube has a cross section that essentially fills theavailable cross sectional area provided by said central holes.
 4. Thepackage article of claim 2 wherein said support tube has a circular orelliptical cross section.
 5. The package article of claim 1 wherein saidannular disks each have an identical shape selected from the groupconsisting of round, oval, elliptical andpolygonal-with-rounded-corners.
 6. The package article of claim 1wherein the central hole in each annular disk has a shape that isselected from the group consisting of round, oval, elliptical andpolygonal-with-rounded-corners.
 7. The package article of claim 1wherein the diameter of the central hole in each of said annular disksdoes not exceed 50 percent of the annular disk outer diameter.
 8. Thepackage article of claim 1 which additionally contains a sizing means.9. The article of claim 8 wherein said sizing means is a sizing disk.10. A package article comprising a shirred tubular casing having atleast one unshirred portion and having disposed inside said unshirredportion at least ten flattening annular disks, there being a centralhole in each of said annular disks, which are detachably-attached inpairs, at least one disk of the pair being fixedly-attached by means ofa flexible tubular membrane to a disk of an adjoining pair, said tubularmembrane being a plastic film, each of said disks having a central holediameter that does not exceed 50 percent of the annular disk outerdiameter, the leading disk of the pair having a central hole with adiameter larger than the central hole diameter of the trailing annulardisk of the pair, a central support tube of circular or elliptical crosssection extending through the central holes of said disks, said annulardisks being canted relative to the longitudinal axis of the shirredcasing, said pairs of disks being overwrapped with a rigid or flexiblematerial, said unshirred portion of casing and a portion of said tubularmembrane being pre-clipped at one end, said package article beingoverwrapped with a polyvinylchloride elastic film or a polyethyleneshrink fitted overwrap, said package article additionally containing asizing means in the unshirred portion of the casing.
 11. A method ofmaking a package article for use in automatically and continuouslystuffing food product employing at least one shirred casing stick whichcomprises:(a) providing a shirred casing stick having an unshirredportion and a shirred portion, and (b) disposing inside said unshirredportion of said casing stick at least two pairs of flattening annulardisks, there being a central hole in each of said annular disks, saidpairs being detachably-attached, at least one disk of each pair beingfixedly-attached by means of a flexible tubular membrane to a disk of anadjoining pair, said pairs of disks being overwrapped with a rigid orflexible material.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein said packagearticle is made in situ at a use site and assembled on a stuffing hornor central support tube.
 13. The method of claim 11 including the stepof inserting a sizing means into said unshirred portion intermediatesaid shirred casing portion and said flattening annular disks.
 14. Thepackage article produced by the method of any of claims 11 through 13.15. The package article of claim 1 wherein said flexible means is aflexible tubular membrane of plastic film.
 16. A package articlecomprising a shirred casing and a plurality of flattening annular disks,there being a central hole in each of said annular disks, said annulardisks being detachably-attached in pairs, at least one disk of the pairbeing fixedly-attached by flexible means to a disk of an adjoining pair,said casing and said annular disks both being axially mounted on a tube,said pairs of disks being overwrapped with a rigid or flexible material.17. A package article comprising a shirred casing having at least oneunshirred portion and having disposed inside said unshirred portion twoannular disks, there being a central hole in each of said annular disks,said annular disks being detachably-attached in a pair, said pair ofdisks being overwrapped with a rigid or flexible material.
 18. Thepackage article of claim 1 wherein each of said pairs of disks has aleading disk having a central hole with a diameter larger than thecentral hole diameter of the trailing disk of the pair.
 19. The packagearticle of claim 1 wherein said annular disks are canted relative to thelongitudinal axis of the shirred casing.
 20. The package article ofclaim 15 wherein a second disk of the pair is fixedly-attached to saidunshirred portion of casing by a portion of tubular membrane which isconfined together with the end of the unshirred casing portion by acasing closure means.